It is Valentine’s weekend and I hope you shared a little extra love! Celebrating Valentine’s Day with the same partner for the last 25 years is a bit less exciting and certainly less romantic. But there is a wonderful feeling of a lasting kind of love and affection.

Our romantic days are filled with workout activities on the beach and getting joint blood tests! I’m happy that Hi-Precision Diagnostics has an ongoing “Love Yourself” campaign to promote the importance of getting a blood test. Check their IG @hiprecisiondiagnostics for more details.

Let’s talk about love! In his No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “The 5 Love Languages,” Dr. Gary Chapman presents a simple truth: Relationships grow better when we understand each other. Everyone gives and receives love differently, but with a little insight into these differences, we can be confidently equipped to communicate love well. This is true for all forms of relationships.

The book was written 25 years ago. After reading this book, I realized we have similar issues regarding marriage. In his early years as a marriage counselor, Dr. Chapman noticed similar complaints. The premise is simple: Different people with different personalities express love in different ways. Dr. Chapman called these ways of expressing and receiving love the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time and Physical Touch. Each individual has at least one language that they prefer above the other.

The five love languages describe the way we feel loved and appreciated. Depending on our individual personality types, we may feel loved differently than how our partners do. Understanding and decoding these different ways of showing love will help take the guesswork out of your partner’s expectations.

New addition

After careful analysis, Dennis and I have different love languages but we are united in the love and happiness—thanks to our first grandchild.

Our eldest son Bryan Prieto and wife Tinkay Crespo-Prieto gave us a grandson, born last Feb. 8. Since baby Louie Malachi arrived a week or two early, I had already scheduled a trip out of town when he came.

My action-packed weekend started in Palawan at the Flower Island Resort and the neighboring pearl farms of Jewelmer and continued on to Cebu for the launch of Usana’s Whitening Toothpaste.

Jewelmer, the world’s leading producer of golden South Sea pearls, brought together for the first time a group of inspiring ladies—Dawn Zulueta-Lagdameo, Karen Davila, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat and myself.

We journeyed to Jewelmer’s pearl farm in Palawan to discover how the Philippines’ national gem is sustainably brought to life. From hatchery to harvest, we learned the five-year process of producing a pearl, and met the vibrant community behind this process along the way.

Dancing ‘Tala’ in Palawan

During this excursion, we also visited the hub of Save Palawan Seas Foundation where we saw the positive impact of the South Sea pearl in the form of various livelihood and environmental initiatives that help empower Palawan’s coastal communities.

Our Red Charity Gala contributes to this foundation, so it was gratifying to see how much the foundation does for the local community. By the end of this immersive experience, Dawn, Karen, Berna and I all expressed a deeper appreciation for the pearl, and a clearer understanding of this living gem’s vital role in both nation-building and marine conservation.

Dawn emphasized the value of bringing awareness to our country’s environmental challenges, as well as the positive impact of the sustainable cultivation process of the golden South Sea pearl. Her cute daughter Ayisha gamely taught her titas how to dance “Tala,” the latest dance craze of soon-to-wed Sarah Geronimo. The hilarious and not-so-coordinated dance video even went viral!

Berna told me how the experience strengthened her commitment to protect our environment so that future generations can continue to appreciate our country’s most beautiful sites. For journalist Karen, the pearl farm is an example of a venture conducted with sustainability and genuine inclusive growth in its business model.

At Jewelmer, it takes 377 steps and around five years for a single South Sea pearl to be produced. No two pearls are alike. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Only the top two percent in quality of harvest are used to create Jewelmer’s fine jewelry pieces, and these pearls may have an almost flawless surface.

Innovative dental care

Speaking of flawless, that is also the new goal of Usana’s innovative oral care line. A leader in the health and wellness industry, Usana strives to continuously develop products featuring new, cutting-edge formulations. The new products were launched at its annual grand celebrations in SMX Convention Center, and its Usana Cebu kickoff. For the Cebu leg, I flew back to Manila from Palawan to catch the Air Asia flight to Cebu with only five minutes to spare, but I’m glad it all worked out and I made it on time.

Dr. Rob Sinnott, Usana’s chief scientific officer, noted that they must continuously innovate or watch the industry pass them by. He expects the new oral care line to keep them at the top, given the advancements like the postbiotic ADP-1 in the Whitening Toothpaste, which is the culmination of years of hard work and research to give Usana’s customers the best products possible. Kudos to Usana as they embark on the beginning of some amazing things to come.

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